Thanks for the emotional support peeps! I felt better yesterday getting back to work. Part of the day's task was calling people to see if they'd like an apple pie donation-we're targeting folks who are on their own. Now today I'll be driving around delivering some of them. It's amazing how many people don't actually like apple pie. I had a nice telephone chat with an 89 year old who is quite mentally perky, who told me-don't gain weight. Too late! I told her, but more incentive to drop it.
After work I drove DD to a medical appt and it took forever to come home in the traffic which left me a bit crabby and wanting to be left alone. We picked up delicious healthy meals from Sweetgreen, which I washed down with a few leftover cookies. Today i'll pick up DS but hopefully I'll beat the big traffic, we'll see, and then will start making some thanksgivingy foods after. I love the foods and leftovers but am starting to think its not worth doing this -maybe i'll just pick up some ready made meals next year. I'm making turkey dinner tomorrow for us in theory if the turkey has thawed, and then we're going over to BFF on the day. DD has to work that day so i'm getting her the meal early. Maybe.
Silverbirch- that is awesome about your abs! Yay for 8 hours sleep. On the rare weekend nights I get 9 hours I feel so great, our bodies really need the rest.
Gardenerjoy-I hear you about the different introvert feelings. I also hear you about feeling anxious about cooking only for one's own family, i'm making myself crazy.
Bill-making room in the fridge is hero worthy indeed. DD will be staying here for a bit before getting an apt-probably more like the spring/summer, so she can focus on getting used to her responsibilities.
Today's adventure is a Hot Tub Therapy Session with my brother. It's a nice highway drive, too. I kind of forgot during the pandemic how much I enjoy driving.
That does mess with the timing of my meals and snacks, but I've also noticed that I don't get terribly hungry. So, I'll just push everything off a little late and, maybe, skip a snack entirely.
Exercise: 60, 1195/1800 minutes for November
BillBlueEyes: It would be interesting to see if it's worse or better on Wednesday at the grocery store. I forgot to buy bananas, so maybe I'll check to satisfy curiosity.
curlyjax: Let's agree to relax and enjoy our Thanksgiving! If anything goes wrong with the food preparation, it's a funny story to tell and an interesting problem to solve, not a catastrophe.
I am safe and sound back from Pismo Beach. It was gorgeous and the highlight of the trip was long walks overlooking the bluffs on the Pacific Ocean.
Credits:
1. Mom and I really enjoyed each other's company and we were both glad to be on our own in a hotel for the three days.
2. I navigated emotions much better with stronger boundaries around the more prickly of my family. This made me feel isolated sometimes but I was also not open for the kind of attacks that happened last Christmas.
3. I played with my 2 yo GN. He was a riot. I enjoy the better aspects from my siblings and left when other characteristics were likely to come out.
4. Back is much better.
Oh Wells:
1. I did a fair job keeping to 95% non-UPF food. However amounts were unhealthy.
I have much to do this vacation. I need to plan out all the design elements for the River House. We will have a meeting of the plumber, countertop lady, and cabinet maker where all final decisions will be made. I was so happy I had already thought abput exactly what want in the bathrooms. It made the first meeting pleasant. Date change: We are now pretty sure the house was built in the early 20s like we originally thought. It can still be a century home.
Curly: Three cheers for DD.
BBE: LMAO with a Christmas gift of a library book. (hee Hee)
Joy: Enjoy your time with your brother.
Silverbirch: 100% of anything done is a great feeling. I have finally given away an extremely nice Yakima bike rack that i used twice 20 years ago. It was a tough purchase to part with because it was a mistake to buy. She will really enjoy it.
Diet Coaches/Buddies – Egg on my face: Since typing my tale of Ocean Spray fresh cranberries having been reduced in package size from 16 to 12 ounces EXCEPT for my supermarket that offered one-pound bags, I went to the Ocean Spray web site to see if they did, in fact, still sell one-pound bags. Nope, they sell 12-ounce and 20-ounce bags. Fortunately, I had proof; I'd taken a picture of the sign at my supermarket that I'd joyfully shown DW. I whipped it out to verify that, yep, the sign said one-pound bags. I expanded the photo until I could read one of the bags, itself: "12 ounces." Ooops! I'd been fooled by a sign - possibly put up by an old-timer who just assumed they were one-pound bags. Hard to bring myself to be leery of supermarket signs.
Eating was on plan with no daytime snacks, CREDIT moi. Dinner was veggie burgers slathered with slices of tomato and grilled onions. Would have made me vegetarian for the day except that the 'starch' of the meal was . . . Thanksgiving dressing that contained ground pork - our old favorite recipe. DW had made too much for the container she plans to use for tomorrow's dinner so we had the overflow last night. "Menu fusion," she said to justify it. Was a good tease for tomorrow but longed for gravy. I've had leftover Thanksgiving dressing many a time, but this was my first time as a prequel.
Disaster happened. The little finger trigger of our tea kettle broke! Might require a trip to our local hardware store today. Can still heat water but have to open the lid using a wooden spoon - a two-handed operation. Not a good time for what otherwise would be a minor inconvenience.
Joy (gardenerjoy) - So great that you have Dear Brother Hot Tub Therapy available. Please do the test, for both of us, whether the supermarket is busy today. One of the many uses for my invisible drone when I invent it.
maryann – Congrats for making your Prismo Beach visit a success for both yourself and your mom. Good planning to have a hotel room to create some distance when that's what was needed. Love hearing that your renovation of the Century House is marching forward.
curlyjax - Delivering apple pies sounds like the best job ever. I refuse to believe that someone can not-like apple pie. I've slowly grown to accept that many folks don't like mincemeat pie and that few like it as much as I do. Good to be reminded that there are mentally alert 89-year olds; gives me hope for my own future.
Readers -
Quote:
Chapter 8Stage 5 - The Motivation-for-Life Plan
Re-Motivation Plan
Difficulties may have arisen due to your eating behavior. Ask yourself:
Am I still eating as nutritiously as before?
Am I still eating everything slowly, while sitting down and enjoying every bite?
Should I time my snacks differently?
Should I vary the foods I eat (still using the Think Thin Formula)?
Have I stopped saying to myself, NO CHOICE? Am I struggling over which food to eat?
Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., The Complete Beck Diet for Life (Green book), Pg 192.
I ate all my healthy foods for breakfast and lunch yesterday, credit. The pies turned out to be 8 instead of 10 and half blueberry instead of all apple- which was very pleasing to a few people-but what can we do, they were donated. Fortunately we hadn't found someone for the 10th pie, and I told one of the other recipients to be that we didn't have enough, and it was fine. Right after work I zipped out to pick up DS, and had a very nice chat with him on the way home. It was a little trafficky but only added an extra 15 minutes. At home DD surprised me with an early birthday present of chocolates and I generously shared them- she had been out shopping, so that was a sweet surprise. I prepped my stuffing including toasting bread cubes, and washed the dishes, and called it a day.
Ack, there is snow on the ground today! Just a little. Hopefully we'll be let out early. I'm going to make my turkey today although it will be late by the time its done, and mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce. DS is going to a friend's house which takes some pressure off timing wise, so DD and I will graze whenever its done. And then tomorrow I will make pie for the celebration at BFF.
Gardenerjoy-I'm in for relaxing and enjoying! I may end up at the grocery store too as I forgot an essential ingredient for pumpkin pie-evaporated milk. Although I suppose i could use regular.
Maryann-yay for more credits than oh wells, and yay for such a nice trip. It's so fun to hear about your house!
Bill- That cranberry sign has confused a lot of other folks i'm sure! Funny about the prequel dressing, you may start a new trend!
Wave to Eusebius, Silverbirch and Onebyone!
I'm headed to the grocery store in a bit, to test whether it's more or less busy on the day before Thanksgiving. Besides bananas, I realized that I want to buy cranberries.
I'm not serving cranberries for Thanksgiving, but I will probably make my famous cranberry-applesauce for the family Christmas gathering. I know from experience that cranberries are plentiful before one holiday and sometimes impossible to get before the next. The trick is to buy Christmas cranberries before Thanksgiving and freeze the bag.
I'll report back on the sizes of the cranberry bags, as well as the crowds. Fortunately, my applesauce doesn't rely on exact measurements of anything.
Exercise: 60, 1255/1800 minutes for November
BillBlueEyes: Here's our history of electric tea kettles. We bought a cheap one after our trip to England (where we listened to a splendid lecture about the bimetallic strip: Greenwich, England #BriFri #Photos – Joy's Book Blog ). That lasted for about a year before the heating element burned out. Then, we bought an expensive kettle. It lasted several years -- but the latch mechanism only lasted a year or so. When that kettle died, we replaced it with the same brand. The latch mechanism, again, only lasted a year but the kettle is still going strong. So, we always open ours with the help of a tool. I'd be interested to know, from silverbirch, if the latch mechanisms last longer on British-designed electric kettles.
maryann: Yay for a family trip that went better than might have been expected. CREDIT for working so hard to make that happen.
curlyjax: It sounds like you have a terrific plan for you Thanksgiving eating!
I slept in for the first time in the vacation. 8:00 am. My job is to wait until 10:30 to pick up the pies. I plan to go to the whole foods and get enough green salad for two days. Hopefully they have their Kale. DH's family always has salad but it is slathered in dressing which doesn't work for me so I don't usually eat the salad. I am also bringing baby cukes to snack on. I think I will bring a larger purse and quietly sneak said items in. I really don't want to draw attention to myself.
The great news is SIL and BIL have invited me to join them on 17 day Tahoe Rim Trail extravaganza next October. https://tahoerimtrail.org/. We will be backpacking. So excited. Now I can start putting together my training schedule. That will include "rucking" I have a 13 pound round rock in a day pack I will take for a stroll today. I am tempted to buy the GO RUCK products. https://www.goruck.com/collections/c...4aAuKSEALw_wcB. Does special forces take 60 year olds?
DS is safely landed. I get to see him for lunch. There will be 8 littles at our events. Can't wait.
Now at the southern house. I left a bit late yesterday morning because I had to load more stuff into the car when it wasn’t raining. That meant if I wanted to get to my sister’s before dark and rush hour I had to have a very much shorter break than I wanted for lunch. So I didn’t eat all my sandwiches. I ate them when I arrived at her house which was too late really. She’s a good cook but last night’s tea wasn’t good and pudding was ice-cream and chocolate. I woke with a tummy ache in the night etc etc. Too boring to go on about except to say that it would be good if I could see the problem coming (in this case, caused by unsatisfactory food all day) and say No to food that makes trouble. In this case to the pudding. But, of course, I was in a position of weakness (unsatisfactory food all day) already. Now I think I might be getting a cold. I arrived here late and missed getting to the library for my requested book, missed getting to market for some nice apples and am about three weeks too late to buy wallflowers. I’ve already eaten too much. The first day here is always a bit scratchy though, and I know tomorrow will be better.
A great question about kettles, Bill and gardenerjoy. This can be my excitement today! In the olden days I could have written a full blog post on this. You ask about the longevity of kettle latches in the UK. I was stumped for a while when I read the word as I always think of kettles as having a catch rather than a latch/finger trigger. So I had to think about that for a bit and then I realised that I hadn’t updated my personal onboard database of kettle designs! I think that the jug style of kettle has a latch which you depress to open the lid (we actually do have one of these in the northern house) and the traditional more dome-shaped kettle has some kind of basic catch and you have to wrench the lid off.
Back to basics - it’s all about filling the kettle with water, isn’t it? You can either fill through the top (opened with a latch or by wrenching the lid off, the traditional and more dangerous method) or through the spout. If the latch mechanism fails, is it still possible to fill through the spout or is it too narrow? Perhaps the optimum design includes both a latch and a sufficiently wide spout. I wonder whether kettles sold in America don't have both of these two features.
Anyway, the short answer - it’s never been the latch that’s failed on kettles I’ve had. It’s usually, probably always, been the element that’s gone.
Bill, good work ferretting out dubious supermarket signs!
curlyjax, a little snow on the ground! My word. Time to relax and enjoy inside for a little while.
gardenerjoy, it was nice driving from my sister’s today as the traffic was light and the autumn was looking so beautiful. Good planning ahead with the cranberries!
maryann, a hotel room to create distance is a wonderful thing. Rucking sounds good!
Thursday - U.S. Thanksgiving (since 1621; 90 Wampanoag, 53 Pilgrims)
Diet Coaches/Buddies – Had great fun making the cranberry relish for today's dinner. Had to use a stepladder to fetch the old (Patented 1899) metal meat grinder from the farthest corner of the pantry. Used only one 12-ounce bag of cranberries and one orange. Juice drips everywhere but, having done this before, was met with a tray to ease cleanup. DW added the sugar; we both have moved toward less sweet. It's perfect for us. If the kids don't like it, all the better. I can eat any that's leftover on whatever food I next eat. Grinding away is enough work to claim resistance exercise, CREDIT moi. A minor one. Like a 12-ounce pound one, LOL. Made a lot of trips running up and down from the basement. The turkey came up to get unwrapped, dried off, salted and peppered, stuffed with onions, celery, and carrots, and covered with foil in its baking pan. Then returned to the basement fridge ready to bake for three hours. DW is working from a list that rivals Eisenhower's D-Day prep.
Eating was on plan with no daytime snacks, CREDIT moi. Dinner was our little-time-to-prepare standby Trader Joe's shrimp stir fry over brown rice. We are so ready: all the dishes are set out; the table is set except for the silverware. DW did one setting, properly, and will ask the two grands to mimic that to finish the job. They should be able to do that easily. I'll have the salad ingredients cut up in separate bowls for them to 'help' me by spreading them into the salad bowl. Proper butter knives were pulled out and polished. They're sort of like this one. Will be the most elegant part of the table. DD will bring dinner rolls because the two young girls will certainly eat those while they sniff at turkey, dressing, and other adult delectables.
Joy (gardenerjoy) - Thanks for awaking in me "The age old question: How does your electric tea kettle know when to turn off?" that is so elegantly answered in Scottie's blog with embedded YouTube video for the geekier geek. Our friends bought a British electric tea kettle after they installed solar panels and their electricity was near free. I knew about bimetallic strips but hadn't known they were part of the search for longitude tale. Am now drooling for cranberry-applesauce.
Silverbirch - So fun to track down the different tea kettle designs. Ours is this
which, however traditional it is, is no longer in stock anywhere. DW is not impressed with the notion of buying a used tea kettle on eBay or etsy where Google finds it available as well as this article, https://www.stltoday.com/neman-the-sad-death-of-cherished-cookware/article_2ea21bf9-d5ad-5b89-9b1d-9b17d465d5a5.html, that explains that the company that traces its origins back to Paul Revere is no longer in business. Do hope that you are able today, in the safety of your sister's home, to unravel your convoluted day.
maryann – That Tahoe Rim Trail hike sounds like a super good time. Congrats for having the skills to backpack for thirteen continuous days. Do you have boots up to that job? Welcome home, DS.
curlyjax - Happy Birthday. (For whenever it arrives.) Yay for a DD who knows that chocolates is the way to your heart. Congrats to the 9th intended recipient of an apple pie who graciously accepted that it wasn't coming after all. Your snow didn't make it this far east although the cold certainly did.
Readers -
Quote:
Chapter 8Stage 5 - The Motivation-for-Life Plan Re-Motivation Plan
Consider whether you are eating too little. Dieting becomes harder than it needs to be if you are trying to sustain a calorie level that is too low for your appetite and life circumstances.
Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., The Complete Beck Diet for Life (Green book), Pg 192.
I arrived at work yesterday to find 6 more donated pies had arrived. We gave them away to participants who wandered in-one lucky lady got a pecan pie. I never make pecan pie as no one else eats it and its so fattening, but ooh its good. We were able to leave at noon. I zipped into CVS and found one lonely can of evaporated milk which I need for pumpkin pie, then home to get the turkey going. I did my usual internal debate- do I stuff the turkey or not? We had years of stuffed turkey with no health problem etc, but finally decided against it and cooked the stuffing separately. Also made squash, steamed green beans, mashed potatoes, pasta (DD wanted something bland to eat as I was cooking), gravy and cooked cranberry relish. Half the dishes are done, the rest will be tackled today. DD and I picked at things here and there and I ate too much but it was a pleasant time. Today I will make said pumpkin pie and a salad to bring to BFF's family dinner at 4, where there will be host of things to try. Since I have my own favorites here already I will try a little of this and that but not overdo it. At least that's the plan!
Gardenerjoy-good idea to get those cranberries now, they do disappear! I have an extra bag in my freezer, I'm sure they'll come in handy at some point.
Maryann- sounds like you have a great plan for getting greens in. Great you've got a trip to look forward to.
Silverbirch-always good to know the next day will be better. So hard to say no to food that causes trouble.
Bill-I can just see your beautiful table. It brings back memories of growing up and helping set the special holiday tables. How nice the grands will have those memories too. So fun to use that old meat grinder.
The grocery store was less crowded on Wednesday than Monday. Who knew? On my way to the store, I heard on the radio that Wednesday is one of the country's highest travel days. Maybe everyone is traveling instead of shopping. The only aisle that was hard to navigate was the baking aisle. Ha! They were clearly people who only bake once a year and feel out of their element.
We got a streaming device a few months ago and currently have way too many streaming services. I'm really enjoying Peacock today, though. Watching Macy's Parade is a tradition from my childhood that I haven't managed to implement for a few years.
Also, I had no idea that Peacock gave me access to the Hallmark channel. I finally get to see what all the fuss is about in Hallmark holiday movies. I've been holding off until today, but I'll probably watch one this afternoon.
All of that activity makes food less of a focus. We started sous vide turkey drumsticks last night. The stuffing will take all day, but in fits and starts. I'll roast brussels sprouts and serve them with a dijon / lime / maple syrup sauce of my own invention. DH will make some gravy at the last minute. We're going to eat at 4pm ahead of a family Zoom call at 6pm.
Exercise: 65, 1320 /1800 minutes for November
maryann: The hike sounds great and such a good motivation for training. I hope that you and your family have a great Thanksgiving!
silverbirch: Thanks for the insight into British electric kettles. I've been curious about that for years. When the latch mechanism fails on our kettles, we can use a fingernail to open it (if the kettle is cool) or a spoon (if it's hot). So, we can keep filling the kettle through the top. I might have to look for a design that can be filled efficiently through the spout.
BillBlueEyes: I bought a puny 12oz package of cranberries, hoping that's enough to provide the trademark pink color to my holiday applesauce. On Monday, I saw bigger bags -- they must have been the 20oz packages. I admit to annoyance. Everyone's family recipe for cranberries calls for a pound of cranberries. This is an unacceptable change in tradition.
Your day with the grands sounds terrific!
curlyjax: It sounds like you've got your food preparations under control. I hope you enjoy the day with your BFF and your kids.
A good day, here at the southern house. I collected my book from the library (all of eight minutes away). I’ve set up the hot bin in the greenhouse and that makes me feel a lot more relaxed. I’ve had a very good massage (just by the library, so also very near). Less good is that I can’t find a couple of things which used to be in the garage and my sister doesn’t have them either. Perhaps Mum gave them to someone or lent them and they’ve never come back. I’ve eaten a lot today which isn’t great but I might be following the old advice to “feed a cold” (and “starve a fever”).
A very happy Thanksgiving to all of you in the States who are celebrating. Pace yourselves!
Bill, very nice butter knives for the girls to lay out properly!
I get an A for all the extra steps and movement. Walks out to the century home from our ranch office.Then moved further on anothe mile to DH's ancestral home where are the new babies have settled in. I also picked three big bags of fuyu persimmons. Still plenty left. I have cut up a platter of veggies and added a hummus bowl in the middle. This will give me great things to snack on. I icked up the 10 pies at the cafe we ordered. All in all we are doing well. Much fopr which to be grateful.
Friday - Early human skeleton (Lucy, Australopithecus) discovered (1974, Ethiopia)
Diet Coaches/Buddies – Eating was on plan, CREDIT moi, giving that I had planned to eat the Thanksgiving spread that we served including the appetizers. Good enough. Wasn't a weight loss day, but wasn't a loosen the belt a notch day, either. After dinner and the salad course, we took a walk, CREDIT moi, around the neighborhood. Our two adult kids loved seeing the houses they know well from their childhood and telling their spouses which ones had been their childhood favorites. DD told the tale, as we stood in front of a magnificent brick house, that she'd told the lady that it was her favorite house one year while Trick-or-Treating. The lady smiled and handed her a second candy bar.
We returned from our walk for the pie and ice cream course. DD had "baked" the apple pie. Which was technically true since she purchased a frozen apple pie from their favorite farm stand that she had to pop in the oven and bake Thanksgiving morning. She arrived carrying a still warm pie. A neat concept. Brie and crackers were brought. Brie is one of the many great cheeses that we don't have often because we just don't buy cheeses for appetizers. Fortunately, the uneaten portion went home with DD so it's not in the fridge tempting me. Both families took turkey and dressing home with them. We only have enough left for a repeated meal and a sandwich for lunch. The Green Bean Almondine dish was completely devoured; DIL asked, "Does anyone mind if I finish this off?" as she scooped the remains of the bowl onto her plate for seconds. It was special because DW had never made it before. I'm disappointed that there are none left over since there's no such thing as too many almonds.
Joy (gardenerjoy) - Neat that you've conducted a scientific experiment of one data point that Thanksgiving Wednesday is less crowded than Thanksgiving Monday. Who'd thunk? Your additions to Brussels sprouts makes them sound really good. We love Brussels sprouts here partly because DW adds the kind of stuff that you do. Totally agree, "Everyone's family recipe for cranberries calls for a pound of cranberries. This is an unacceptable change in tradition."
Silverbirch - Enjoy reading each step setting up life in your Southern home. A massage is a great way to arrive. Did you set up a greenhouse already?
maryann – Neat to arrive with Fuyu Persimmons. They are one good looking fruit. Thoughtful to prepare some veggies and hummus for those who wish a tad of sane eating on a day of abundance.
curlyjax - What a day to start with the 'problem' of six more pies to give away. Jealous of the pecan pie. I asked at our dinner table to discover to my surprise that five of the six adults like mincemeat pie. The one dissenter wrinkled her nose and scornfully said, "Raisins in it." It's a magic day when you find condensed milk at CVS - and it the only can left. We're in the camp of making the stuffing in its own pan. I miss digging out the stuffing with the thought of all the good juices its absorbed, but the volume of dressing is easier to control in a separate pan.
Readers -
Quote:
Chapter 8Stage 5 - The Motivation-for-Life Plan Re-Motivation Plan
It's fine to make the decision to go up to the next calorie level if you are struggling. You may gain a couple of pounds, but it may be a relief to be able to eat a little more.
Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., The Complete Beck Diet for Life (Green book), Pg 192.
I made my pumpkin pie to bring to BFFs, plus another one for home-the second had chocolate chips in the bottom, just to try a new thing. I also brought a spinach salad with candied pecans, goat cheese, apples and onions. There of course was a ton of food and I did well trying little bites of this and that. I did have a second roll which was homemade and so good. The young folks tend to dominate the scene there, and of course being cousins have all these shared memories, so it gets a little boring/awkward at times, but it was nice to be with folks for a bit. Someday it would be nice to have the dinner with other adults who are on their own. DS had stayed home to get homework done, and had raked the leaves and washed most of the dishes, which was a big treat. I already took apart the turkey so that chore is done, and there's only the big roasting pan left to deal with. I do not feel overstuffed today, yay.
DD would like to get a Christmas tree today, but first we need to clear the living room of her boxes that have been there since May so that may be today's chore.It's soooo nice to have 3 more days off and be able to relax at home.
Gardenerjoy-that makes sense that people are traveling instead of shopping on Weds.Sounds like you had a nice thanksgiving with great food. Turkey drumsticks are a great idea, I may do that next year with a small turkey breast instead of the whole shebang which I over cooked.
Silverbirch- lovely to have a library so close by, and a massage place too!
Maryann-I've never had a persimmon. how great to pick your own! 10 pies is a lot, you had all the bases covered with that.
Bill-ooh, the green bean dish looks good. So fun to read about other folks foods. DH loved mincemeat pie, and his mom made mincemeat cookies which I have found memories of.
Wednesday - R.I.P. John F. Kennedy (1963, Dallas)
- she had been out shopping, so that was a sweet surprise. I prepped my stuffing including toasting bread cubes, and washed the dishes, and called it a day.
